Elastomer gel materials, such as those made from KRATON® or SEPTON® A-B-A triblock copolymer elastomer-extended with mineral or other oils, are well known. Those gel materials can be foamed, such as by use of chemical foaming agents. Such foaming is disclosed in some of the cases to which priority is claimed above. Those gel materials may also be foamed by injecting a gas, such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen, under high pressure so that the elastomer gel dissolves. When pressure on the gel is reduced, gas bubbles from the injected gas form and remain in it, leaving an elastomer gel that is instantly foamed.
Foam created using elastomer gels has excellent qualities including but not limited to feel and durability. In addition, such foams can be recycled more readily than ordinary thermoset polyurethane foams because the elastomer foams are thermoplastic in nature. One problem that may be encountered in making elastomer foam in commercially-viable thicknesses is that the low viscosity of the melted elastomer gel allows the bubbles, which create the cells in the finished foam, to coalesce or to migrate out of the melt before the melt can be sufficiently solidified by cooling. Elastomer foams without additives can readily be made in very thin layers, up to about 4 millimeters thick, because the melt can be cooled before the bubble distribution is lost. Commercial applications for 4 millimeter or less thick foam are limited, and many more applications exist for thicker foams.